LGBTQ advocates at a press conference ahead of Staten Island’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2024
LGBTQ+ groups will finally be able to participate in Staten Island’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in 2025 after being excluded for over 60 years.
After changes were made recently to the parade committee’s leadership, The Pride Center of Staten Island was invited to march in the 2025 event. In a statement, the Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee said:
“The parade committee is entrusted with ensuring the focus of the parade remains upon Saint Patrick, the history, traditions, culture and faith of the Irish people. In this endeavor, the leadership of The Pride Center has assured the parade committee that they are ready to provide support to the parade in fulfilling this obligation.”
Until now, Staten Island’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has excluded LGBTQ+ groups. In 2014, the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Manhattan opened the parade up to LGBTQ+ affiliates, while the Bronx’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade allowed an LGBTQ+ group to march in 2022.
Larry Cummings, the former Staten Island parade organizer, had been strongly opposed to LGBTQ+ groups’ participation. In an interview with The Irish Voice in 2018, Cummings said that the parade “is not a political or sexual identification parade” and that “gays can march, but not under a banner.”
According to previous Bondings 2.0 reports, the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade has a long history of discrimination. In 2020, Miss Staten Island, Madison L’Insalata, was not allowed to march in the parade after coming out as bisexual. In 2022, several Pride groups, including the Pride Center of Staten Island, Fire Flag, and the New York City Police Department’s Gay Officers Action League, were rejected without any application review.
Last year, the Staten Island Business Outreach Center hosted a second Saint Patrick’s Day parade, called the Forest Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which included LGBTQ+ groups. Due to the changes in committee leadership and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ folks, there will now only be one parade this coming year.
The Pride Center of Staten Island is looking forward to participating in this year’s parade. Executive Director Carol Bullock stated:
“We are truly honored to be invited to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This event is a time-honored tradition that brings people together from all walks of life to celebrate Irish culture, and we are excited to be part of this vibrant community celebration.”
—Sarah Cassidy (she/her), New Ways Ministry, November 29, 2024
